HI AGAIN! Sorry about the long delay on this, but I have been busy lately. Tell me what you think! :D Oh yea, about this chapter… It just sorta ended up.. well it ended up the way it did… I don't even know! Haha
He walked down the street with Tracy for a few minutes, the wind brushing his face and chilling him a bit. His mind buzzed with a single image that he'd witnessed for only a moment before it had vanished. What was the strange attraction he felt for this woman in the bakery? He didn't know her, had never seen her before in his life, but he felt he knew her completely. If someone asked who she was, he could say everything as if rehearsed a million times over in his mind. He could tell them the exact angle of her smile, the curve of her, the tone of her voice.
"Sheldon?" Tracy looked up at him, eyebrows raised.
"Huh?" he mumbled as he was jerked out of his thoughts.
The apartment doors stood before him. Had they really traveled there so fast? He looked around and found the sun was already setting in a haze of orange and pink. He walked up the dusty blue stairs to his apartment, saying goodnight to Tracy before he went.
Sheldon felt slightly dazed, thoughts running through his mind that he really didn't analyze, just let them run their course. He thought of his family, his friends, his work. He thought last of Tracy, how well his life was with her even if it was a strain sometimes. That was how it was supposed to be, right? Calm and normal. But it didn't feel good. Wasn't it supposed to feel good? He wanted to feel that, that overwhelming feeling that you got in your tummy whenever you saw someone. He'd researched it, thought it unreliable and childish, but was still interested. Tracy made him feel… normal, but not good.
Through all his thinking he never even noticed that he was getting into bed until sleep found him and claimed his thoughts to be embellished in sweet dreams…
Ł
He stood at the door of a strange place, not much detail, just the simple outline of a room. He'd been here before, why did this look so familiar. He took a step, his clothes undefined, just a haze covering his body. His face looked different, stronger, more muscular. Suddenly the door to the blank room opened without a sound, and something stepped inside. In that moment he realized where he was. He was in his dream place, he came here often; he knew what would happen next.
A woman would enter, her face blank but her curves plentiful. This would be one of those dreams, he knew, one where he would release his stress into a strange woman he didn't give a face.
But what shocked him was what his dream-self created. A blonde woman with bright, emerald eyes entered and came up to him shyly, worrying her lip between her teeth. He took a step toward her, his arm instantly on her hip. She moved away slightly and he suddenly felt uncomfortable. This wasn't right, this was wrong. He didn't even know her.
Guilt over took him and he woke with a start, his dream fading with the brisk air of morning…
Ł
Penny's head rested on the counter, a pool forming under her head. The shop was filled with a rumbling noise, deep breathing in between. Her knees buckled underneath her as her weight became heavy. She leaned heavier on the counter until her arm hung over the edge. She was definitely a sight to see as she lay asleep at 6:30 in the morning in her bakery.
The bell on the door chimed lightly and a stranger entered dressed brightly. He walked up to the counter cautiously but with a curious expression on his face. Noticing the girl snoring on the counter, he couldn't help but smile. Looking around, he noticed how empty the shop was. He knew it was early but he would have thought at least someone would be there. Cautiously he reached out his hand, lightly tapping her on the shoulder. Still she snored on the countertop, drool accumulating by her mouth.
Sheldon stared for a moment. The woman he had seen from across the street 2 days ago now lay asleep with her face oblong on a counter. He considered how unsanitary it was for her to be drooling in her store, but apparently his mind was going to ignore that little bit of information because there he was standing in front of her, touching her, trying to wake her up.
She snorted slightly and stiffened her shoulders. Slowly, she pushed of the counter and yawned, opening her eyes once she was standing. It took her a moment to see straight and understand where she was, light from the windows blinded her for an instant. Finally she looked in front of her and saw a tall man staring at her… in fascination? If she was reading his face right, he was somewhat amused and curious.
She looked back at him confusedly for a moment until she realized what had really happened. Her eyes drifted down to the counter, embarrassment flooded through her when she saw the puddle of drool. She raced to get a paper towel and some disinfectant, much to Sheldon's relief, and began to talk in a jittery voice.
"Hi, I'm Penny," she said with her back turned, "I'm so sorry you saw me like that! Really, that was not one of my best moments." He was silent the whole time; he watched as she bent down to get disinfectant from a cabinet below her sink.
Sheldon looked away quickly as a thong showed when she bent over. He began to go through the periodic table in alphabetical order waiting for her to turn around.
"So what would you like?" her voice was more relieved once she had cleaned up the mess and fixed her hair.
Sheldon turned back to her and smiled shyly at her.
"Hi."
Penny smiled and cocked her head to the side.
"Hi," she said back.
"Hi."
Penny laughed and through her head back.
"What would you like Mr…"
"Sheldon," he said.
"Sheldon… Sheldon what?"
"That's my name."
"Yes," she said as if speaking to a small child.
"Oh," he breathed, "Sheldon Cooper. Sheldon Lee Cooper."
"Alright. Well, now that we know each others' names, would you like something." She smiled warmly and bounced on her heals a bit.
"Dr."
"What?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper Ph.D.," he said, a bit behind in the conversation.
"Oo! A doctor! What kind of doctor?"
"I'm a theoretical physicist studying string theory as a massive inclusion in the big bang."
"…Oh."
Sheldon smiled again and tried to avoid her eyes, green and shining.
"I don't know much about physics, but it has always sounded fascinating. So are you a professor then?"
Sheldon paused for a moment to get his thoughts together. Why was his mind so blank all of a sudden.
"Awesome," he blurted. The word shocked him even before it had fully escaped his mouth. Since when did he say awesome?
"Huh?" she said.
Shaking his head a bit he realized what she had asked.
"Oh, yes, I am a professor, but mostly I do work in my office."
"That's cool. I might have to take classes sometime. Where is it you work?"
"Caltech."
"Nice! Heard that's a pretty prestigious place."
Sheldon sniggered. Prestigious? Absurd!
"Well, what can I get for you?'
Sheldon bounced on his toes for a moment before he noticed how long he had lingered in the store talking to her. His plan had been to only come in for a few minutes just to see her up close and then leave with some sort of pastry, but it had been nearly 20 minutes, far too long for a casual visit to a store.
"Ah, do you have any peach cobbler?" he mumbled.
"Oh yeah! It's my favorite! I always make an extra for myself. Wanna slice?"
"Mmhm."
"I'll take that as a yes," she jittered.
Penny went to the kitchen and grabbed out a peach cobbler she had forgotten to put out in the display cabinet. With a few quick cuts she had him a piece in a cute little container with flowers and kittens. When she handed it to him, he grinned at the little images on it. Unique.
"How much?" he asked as she turned and closed the door to the kitchen.
"On the house," she cheered, her hand flying up into the air and waving off his question.
He smiled slightly and took an unwilling step towards the front door. He knew he had to go, at least right then, but it felt like being torn away.
"Buh-bye!" she sing-songed.
"Goodbye."
"Hey wait," she said just as his foot hit the threshold, "what's your name?"
"Sheldon. I told you that already."
Penny smiled and tapped her fingers on the counter.
"Yeah, I know. Bye Mr. Scientist."
Sheldon stepped out into the open air of the morning. His face felt hot in the cold air, and one touch he could tell it was. His heart pounded in his chest all the way to work that morning, and by lunch, he was pretty sure it wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
AN: OK! So here is another chapter of this, M is in the later chapters, so yea. Thanks for readin! REVIEWWWW! :D Tell me what you think!